Notes: Squished together three tropes for this one! AH with a little bit of side Kolenzo.
From This Day Forward
(Prompts: Wedding fic + Everybody Knows/Mistaken For A Couple + Erotic Dreams. Rated T).
When her alarm goes off, at 6 AM on a Saturday, Caroline shoves her head under her pillow and groans, deeply resentful about the fact that she can't even get away with hitting the snooze button more than twice.
Curse her commitment to being a kick ass BFF.
Klaus is supposed to pick her up at seven and she wants to double check her luggage before he gets to her place. The winery they're heading to doesn't have a convenient nearby drugstore she can pop into if she forgets toothpaste.
If she were a flakier type she would have bailed on this trip and spent her Saturday lazing around her apartment. But nope, she's determined that Enzo and Kol's wedding will be awesome and, if she doesn't tag along they'll probably get distracted by tasting the wines and looking for secret nooks they can defile. They'll totally forget to check out the amenities and ask pertinent questions about the kitchen set up and guest capacity.
It's up to Caroline to be practical.
She's not entirely sure why Klaus is helping with the pre-wedding stuff. He's mostly kept his mouth shut unless asked a direct question but his input has been helpful (and often aligns with Caroline's own opinions). She doubts he'd be all that interested in keeping the nauseatingly cute couple on task. He has good taste so Caroline can't complain about an extra pair of helping hands. Plus, he lives in her city and has no qualms about her tagging along on a long drive.
She'd have been so bored by herself.
Her second alarm sounds and Caroline tosses the pillow aside, sitting up and shoving her hair out of her face, reaching out to grab her phone. She cuts the sound, drops it on her bed. Her spine cracks when she reaches her arms above her head in a stretch and it's so so tempting to flop back onto her nice comfy mattress.
Sadly, duty called. "It's gonna be a long day," Caroline grumbles.
The next time she wakes up it's with a gasp.
Caroline had been dreaming, a vivid one set in the backseat of Klaus' SUV. She's shaking a little with frustration, the sensations her imagination had conjured lingering. In the dream her jeans had been dangling from one leg and Klaus' had been lowered, his shirt discarded as they'd moved together frantically. His voice had been a rough scrape as he'd moaned in her ear and she'd been clawing at his back in an attempt to get him deeper.
Disoriented, blinking dumbly at the front windshield, Caroline fights against her seatbelt. She tries to straighten up in her seat, pressing her feet into the floorboards. She feels overheated and tugs her scarf away from her neck, using her other hand to coil her hair away up.
It takes her a second to realize they're no longer on the highway, instead driving slower, down a pretty street lined with brightly painted shops and restaurants.
"Pleasant dreams, sweetheart?" Klaus asks. She twists her head to look at him, wondering if she's imagining the little note of satisfaction in his question. He's focused on the road and Caroline decides her dream's just messing with her mind.
"I don't really remember," Caroline lies. "Do you mind if I crack a window?" She doesn't wait for an answer, stabbing at the button on her door and gulping in the cool air that flows over her face.
She's deeply disappointed in her sub conscious. Klaus is hot but she's been told plenty of stories that make her think he's a terrible guy for her to be interested in. Kol has gleefully recounted Klaus' exploits, the implosions of his serious relationships. He's so not crush material, seems to be a heart crusher.
Her traitorous body, the arousal she can't quite will away, disagrees.
"We'll get out in a minute," Klaus tells her. "Kol texted to say he and Enzo are running late so I thought we'd stop for food."
Part of her feels like that's a bad idea – eating a meal with Klaus, alone, has date-like vibes. Caroline doesn't want to encourage her brain. She's stuck with him for the next thirty-sixish hours and she'd really like to get through them without any more sex dreams. The rest of her, the part that had been miffed that her morning rush had only allowed for her to consume a granola bar and a handful of strawberries, is down for a meal.
Her stomach growls audibly so clearly the hungry side wins.
Klaus makes a low noise, the barest hint of a laugh, and Caroline shoots him a glare. He misses it, busy concentrating on parking. "Quiet. My breakfast was tiny."
"Shouldn't skip the most important meal of the day," Klaus teases.
"Yeah, yeah. Where are we eating?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not especially familiar with the options around here."
Caroline glances at the clock on the dash, sees that she's slept for almost three hours. "Lemme Google." She does a quick search for nearby brunch spots, finds someplace with an impressive Yelp score. She passes her phone to Klaus once she's pulled up the menu. "Here. This good? I don't know if you have any weird food things."
He scrolls through quickly, "Looks good. And no, I don't think I'm especially picky."
She files the information away, and then wonders why she's bothering. She would need to know Klaus' likes and dislikes, no matter how good the dream sex had been.
Reality would surely disappoint. Didn't it always? Just because Klaus has aesthetically pleasing hands doesn't mean he knows what to do with them.
Caroline reaches down for her purse and unbuckles her seatbelt. She forces a cheery tone, determined to shove all her weird conflicting thoughts away. "Great!" she chirps. "Let's eat."
Coming out of the bathroom Caroline pauses near the hostess' stand, lifting up on to her toes to scan the restaurant. A waitress stops in front of her, her greying hair slicked back into a high ponytail. She grins, tucking a pad into the pocket of her apron, "Looking for your young man, hon? He's out on the patio."
"Oh, he's not my…" the waitress bustles away, heading toward the kitchen pass. "…boyfriend," Caroline finishes uselessly.
It's not the first time people have mistakenly assumed she and Klaus are a thing. It's actually happened nearly every time they've done wedding things. Kol and Enzo are forever running late and when two people show up for an appointment to check out stationary or talk out menu options it's a reasonable assumption.
Not so, this time. Can't a man and a woman walk into a diner without people seeing something romantic? Sheesh.
Caroline weaves her way through the tables, heading towards the doors that lead to the outdoor dining area. The restaurant's pretty busy, only a few unoccupied tables. The patio looks more deserted from what she can see but then it is a little chilly to be eating outside. She steps out, smiles politely at the only other occupant, a middle aged woman with a golden retriever. Klaus is at a table on the other end, the menu spread out in front of him.
She slides in across from him and he glances up, a smile pulling at his lips. "Hope you don't mind I asked to eat out here. You seemed a bit… overheated."
Caroline flushes, studying him carefully. Something about his smile bugs her, she's just not sure why. "This is fine," she says slowly. "I'm fine. I just…" she realizes, belatedly, that she has no reasonable explanation for her jittery wake up. That beginning to offer one was probably a misstep.
Klaus doesn't call her on her unfinished sentence. "Coffee should be here in a moment. The waitress who seated me said she'd be right back. That she'd keep an eye out for you."
Hmm. Interesting. She wonders how Klaus had described her. "Did you tell her we're a thing?"
Klaus leans back in his seat, "She assumed. I saw no need to correct her."
"Why? Aren't you worried I'll cramp your style?"
He laughs, his eyes flitting towards the restaurant's interior. "Somehow I doubt I'd have much luck with that crowd."
Fair point. Most of the patrons looked to qualify for the senior's discount. "Don't sell yourself short," Caroline jokes. "Grandma types love dimples and yours are excellent, totally pokeable. I don't want to ruin your chances of landing a sugar mama."
Klaus grimaces, "Somehow I'll survive without the pleasure."
"If you're sure…"
"I do appreciate the compliment, however."
It takes her a second to get what he means. "Oh please. Like you don't use the dimples to your advantage. I saw you in action at the bakery, remember? Getting extra samples to take home."
"Which I shared with you."
Klaus had coaxed her into helping him eat them on a park bench. He'd claimed if he brought them back to his apartment he'd never get to eat them before Kol did. Caroline's fingers had ended up smeared with frosting and her sides had hurt from laughing at Klaus' stories about growing up with his siblings, the sneaky maneuvering and tricks they'd played.
Oh god. It had just occurred to her how freaking date-y that had been.
She's gone a little still and it takes a second to pick up the conversation. "It was good cake."
He hums an agreement, setting his elbows on the table. "Perhaps we should go back there someday. See if the other offerings are as delicious."
"Are you asking me out?" Caroline blurts out. She's louder than she'd meant to be and she glances around. Luckily, the only other outdoor diner is uninterested in their conversation. She drags her chair a little closer to the table, lowering her voice. "Klaus… what?"
"Yes, I'm asking you out," he says, perfectly calm. "Enzo's informed me that my darling brother has been sharing certain… stories and I'd like to ask you to disregard them. Kol noted my… interest and delights in making my life difficult whenever possible."
Having known Kol for several years Caroline can totally see that. "Just when did he note your interest?" she asks. Because Kol's been offering tidbits about Klaus for months, since the first time Caroline had met his siblings.
Klaus' lips press together, the briefest flicker of discomfort crossing his face. "After meeting you, hearing about how you'd offered to help with wedding plans, I might have offered my own services."
Well. That's kinda flattering. Caroline sits up and grins, does her best Scarlett O'Hara accent, "Be still my heart. Little ole me made a big impression, huh?"
Klaus' lips curl in amusement, "Was it not mutual?"
He's not wrong but there's no way she's going to admit that. "Conceited," Caroline sing songs.
His eyes flit behind her and he leans across the table, his voice nearly a whisper, "Hard for a man not to be when he hears a woman moan his name in her sleep."
Caroline's eyes widen and she's saved from sputtering out something embarrassing when a mug is set in front of her, a delicious smelling stream of coffee immediately poured in. Klaus sits back in his seat, annoyingly self-assured and smug, smiling up at their waitress. Caroline distantly hears her ask if they're ready to order, and Klaus asking for another couple of minutes.
By the time she bustles away Caroline's still kind of shell shocked. Part of her wants to crawl under the table but, since Klaus is clearly interested, maybe she doesn't need to be too embarrassed.
Klaus stirs sugar into his coffee, in slow deliberate movements. It's a struggle not to watch his hands. "You never answered me earlier."
She has no idea what he's talking about.
He nudges the little basket of creamers and sugars in her direction. "About whether or not your dreams were pleasant. From the sounds of it you were quite enjoying whatever it was I was doing to you."
Caroline's jaw drops, "Are you seriously asking about dream-yous sexual prowess right now?"
Klaus grins, unrepentant. "I am. Does that bother you?"
It doesn't. Not really. Still, no need to hand him all her secrets on a silver platter. She busies herself with doctoring up her own coffee, letting her mind wander back to her dream.
She'd been trying to bury it but it seemed like that wasn't necessary. Not when Klaus is amenable to making it a reality. "Dream you was working with limited space so I don't know if it's fair to judge him."
Klaus brows rise, his intrigue obvious. "Oh? Tell me more."
Caroline does.
Later, when they drive up to the potential venue, she can't be surprised when they're greeted like they're the happy couple planning their nuptials. Not when Klaus can't seem to keep his hands off of her and Caroline's perfectly happy invading his personal space bubble. She's not even mad when she has to wait a half hour for Enzo and Kol to join them.
Caroline had booked their group three rooms. They only use two.